1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements made to a PC cartridge, and more particularly to a PC cartridge having enhanced front connecting structure that enables coupled upper and bottom shells of the PC cartridge to resist higher vertical pull applied on them and thereby protects the PC cartridge from easy deformation and ensures secure and reliable mounting of connection ports on the PC cartridge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional PC cartridge that is mainly formed from an upper shell A1, a bottom shell A2, packing rubbers A3 provided on two sides of the bottom shell A2, and two connection ports A4a and A4b. A4a is a front connector located at the front end of the PC cartridge so as to connect a computer or other peripheral circuit. On the contrary, A4b is a rear connector located at the rear end of the PC cartridge so as to connecting cables. Both the upper and the bottom shells A1, A2 are provided at front and rear ends adjacent to the connection ports A4a and A4b with locating flanges A5. Each of the locating flanges A5 has a free end inclining toward the connection ports A4a and A4b, and each of the connection ports A4a and A4b is provided at upper and lower sides with coupling holes A11 corresponding to the locating flange A5. When the conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1 is fully assembled., the locating flanges AS are set in the coupling holes A11 and therefore do not easily become warped to produce any gap. Since the front and the rear end of the upper and the bottom shell are properly received in the coupling holes, they are not easily subjected to damages and deformation due to external forces. Thus, components received in the conventional PC cartridge are well protected against dust that might otherwise enter the PC cartridge due to gaps between warped upper and bottom shells, and no hardware interference would occur at the time the conventional PC cartridge is inserted into or extracted from a slot on a computer.
The conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1 is also provided at the packing rubbers A3 with front hook holes A9 for engaging with front hooks A7 provided at two front corners of the upper shell A1, and at two longitudinal sides of the upper shell A1 with L-shaped coupling flanges A6 for engaging with flanges or grooves provided at the packing rubbers A3. These arrangements allow the upper shell A1 and the bottom shell A2 to securely connect to one another by hooking their front ends together and snapping their rear ends together. No gap is left between the two shells to cause any looseness of the conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1.
The conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1 is further provided at two rear corners of the upper shell A1 with rear hooks A8. The rear hooks A8 are so configured that they could be snapped onto the bottom shell A2 after the front hooks A7 have been engaged with the front hook holes A9. To disassemble the PC cartridge of FIG. 1, simply upward pull the upper shell A1 at its front end to remove the upper shell A1 from the bottom shell A2. The conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1 could therefore be very easily assembled and disassembled.
Tests prove the above-described coupling structure for the conventional PC cartridge of FIG. 1 enables reliable connection of the upper shell to the bottom shell. However, the engagement of the front hooks A7 with the front hook holes A9 does not provide fully sufficient coupling stress.